Getting to the root of things

In looking at every day interactions and conversations I have noticed something that is right in front of most of us but yet we are ignoring it. We have all (myself included) lost our way. But lets keep this to business and marketing.

Caught up in the every day news and cycles of business and payments and industry buzz we have gone from a mostly proactive group to a reactive group. "They" whoever they are have gotten out ahead of us somehow and "we" cannot seem to figure out how that is or how to fix it. We hear people talk about market uncertainty, or election uncertainty, or what the Fed or FTC will do next. We are mostly being controlled by the fear of not knowing what "they" may do next.

Gone are the days of bold moves by companies like Disney and Marriott where they would roll out beacons and ways to track every move customers made while on their property to analyze and find ways to maximize "ticket prices" or what their customers spend on property while adding new and innovative things to keep them on property and enhance their experience. NOw it is how to homogenize the experience to attract the largest audience while still maximizing "shareholder value". Companies have become mostly reactive to the whailing and moaning of the shareholders and their discontent when stock prices or dividends drop. companies lose millions when congress enacts new legislation to steer business one way or another to pacify lobbyists.

Gone are the days of large leaps in innovation. Leaders that truly stand out and "Think Different", causing everyone else to adapt. No, "they" have found a way to crush that spirit, and strike fear into the market and businesses and innovation for the most part. No longer are their businesses or employees for that matter that a mostly proactive and staying out ahead of what may happen, taking chances and providing insight from the adventure. Those employees are brought into line so as not to be wasteful and risk losing the precious point or two of shareholder value that may affect a CEO's bonus or cause congress to investigate the methods behind how they gained traction or attention.

At some point "we" collectively have to decide to make our own moves, to go back to being productive, creative, innovative and make them react to the moves we make. That is how we got to were we are as an industry and country and market. We need to NOT turn things over to AI so much as it only analyzes past behaviors to create the best whatever based on historic information......how does that innovate? How if that creative? What is new about combining historic tendencies and information into something"new"? It doesn't, it just pacifies and makes us feel smarter and more efficient.

Take a moment (but only a moment) to reflect on the last 40 or so years and how far we have come. Then look at the last ten to see how much that has slowed. When did that start? Why did it start? Why are we now reactive instead of proactive? Why are we happy to turn everything, our control, over to someone or something or some technology hoping it will make things better, easier or more efficient? When have we ever seen that work out as something good for everyone?

I completely welcome feedback on this. It is just thoughts about the current state of marketing, martech, data, the industry in general and business in general and do not reflect the sentiments of the company I work for or possibly anyone else. But I feel a general "stuck in the mud" kind of sentiment when it comes to current situations and ways to move forward. its time to quit waiting for someone to take that bold first step. Time to wake up and turn the "machine" off anf fix things and get back to business. Time to teach, and learn and innovate and move forward again. Because if we don't soon, time will run out and even being reactive won't be enough.